Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2019
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Aimee Lou Wood, Tanya Reynolds, Patricia Allison
Description: Teenager Otis (Asa Butterfield), with a sex therapist mother (Gillian Anderson), teams up with high school classmate Maeve (Emma Mackey) to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.
Review: People who are prudish can better ignore “Sex Education”. In this fantastic drama by Netflix, sexuality in the broadest sense of the word is examined and portrayed in a humorous, warm and sincere way. Less than a month after the release date, on February 1, 2019, Netflix announced that “Sex Education” would return for a second season. That's not surprising when you consider that within four weeks, an estimated 40 million households have watched the series.
“Sex Education” tells the story of Otis Milburn and his environment. Otis is sixteen, a virgin, a tad shy and struggling to masturbate. His mother Jean is a sex therapist, doesn’t do relationships and always over-analyzes her son. Together they live in a beautiful house in the English country side, which is covered with pornographic images, sex toys and erotic art. Jean works from home and advices clients about their sex lives. Even though Otis is unexperienced himself, he has a lot of psychological knowledge.
The series starts on the first day after the summer break. Otis and his best friend Eric ride their bikes to school. Eric tells Otis that all their classmates had sex this summer. Otis gives sex advice to Adam, the bully in school. And Maeve witnesses this and sees an opportunity. She convinces Otis to start a sec therapy clinic at school. And they discover that many kids in their school have issues with their sexuality. The way the story is told around Otis and his mates growing to adulthood is very refreshing.
Unlike other coming of age stories, “Sex Education” tackles the subject of sexuality in a more authentic way. Instead of just pure underpants fun, glorifying alcohol and drug use and romancing sex, there is more stratification and ambiguity in the way these subjects are dealt with in ”Sex Education”. In a light-hearted way, various sides of issues that are generally in the taboo area are addressed. For example racism, abortion, erection problems, panic attacks, feminism, homophobia, masturbation and revenge pornography. It is clever of the makers that they cover these subjects without the series turning into one big valley of tears. As far as I am concerned, that is the great strength of the series.
The acting lifts the series to a higher level. Asa Butterfield portrays Otis in a very special and sincere way. Gillian Anderson is brilliant as his free-spirited yet concerned mother with razor-sharp remarks. The rest of the cast consists mainly of newcomers who play excellently. For instance, Emma Mackey convinces as a rebellious teenager, Connor Swindells is a perfect bully and Aimee Lou Wood and Tanya Reynolds provide the necessary laughs as teenage girls on a voyage of discovery. Ncuti Gatwa deserves a special mention as Eric. It's amazing how he manages to play a dark, flamboyant, gay boy who effortlessly switches between comic, tragic and combative without going completely over the top. As far as I'm concerned, Ncuti is the great discovery of the series.
The series is also great visually. The use of color, the surroundings and the decoration are a feast for the eyes. Thanks to the clothing and choice of music, the series seems to take place in the 80s. Yet the characters all have smartphones and watch porn on computers. Several decades seem to merge into “Sex Education”. According to maker Laurie Nunn, the series is a tribute to 1980s films such as “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink” by the king of teen comedy, John Hughes. The themes covered turn out to be universal and timeless. All in all, “Sex Education” is a more than successful, surprising series in the genre. A new favorite series for me!
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